Industry Experts

People love to travel. Many of our agents have told us that their clients have shared with them how much this has made them appreciate that experiences matter more than ‘things’.

It’s almost impossible to imagine how we would cope with Covid-19 without the internet. How would we communicate without email, Zoom, Skype and access to online research?vWe would surely be even more isolated than we already are.

As the travel industry hunkers down to weather this unprecedented time, large and small agency owners have to find every possible way to cut costs. The ongoing cost of things like rent or fees, or employees can be the undoing of a business when revenue isn’t coming in.

Just because travel has effectively come to a halt, doesn’t mean travel retailers aren’t busy. Quite the opposite, in fact. Just ask TPI’s CEO, Zeina Gedeon.

Back in May host agency TravelOnly announced a new partnership with Face Forward Canada, to provide Canadians with safe protective measures when travelling.

Ohhh, we’ve all been there. The Zoom meeting with one person face-down over their keyboard, invisible. Someone sitting with their back to a window so you see them only in shadow. Or the person sitting three feet away from the camera, a wee head in the distance.

When and how will tourism rebound? A difficult question because of so many outside factors – when will borders open up and which ones? When and where will airlines operate to again? When will hotels and resorts open up? Will travel insurance be available and when? And of course, when will people feel safe to travel again and where will they want to go?

Those of us who have been in the industry a long time thought we had “seen it all”: 9/11, SARS, various financial meltdowns and tanking loonies. But, very sad to say, they all pale in comparison with COVID-19.

Travel agents are nimble thinkers and highly adaptable to new challenges. And while the coronavirus pandemic and the fallout for the travel industry are testing the retail travel industry’s resolve and resources like never before, the current crisis won’t get the best of us, says Heather Baker, Director of Acquisitions & Social Media for host agency Independent by Flight Centre.

The travel industry is living through the most precarious period in its history. Many companies may not survive this crisis and some of the most vulnerable in the industry right now are small agencies.